Because I have to do it...

Anya/Jack Murdock

and

Sammy/James

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Jack was there to be 'nice' for his father's benefit. Privately, he suspected he was supposed to be Matt's excuse in case the meeting at Stark Inc with Mr. and Mrs. Stark became awkward. In Jack's opinion, it was already awkward.

He waited in the reception area outside the while Matt discussed the terms of the Maria Stark Foundation proposal that had been received by his office in San Francisco. Pro bono legal work for mutants might build castles in Heaven, but it didn't do a whole lot on Earth. Their family wasn't rich, but they were comfortable thanks to Mom and Dad could do the work that he loved. If Matt became a consultant for the Foundation, he would have more resources to use for his work. Electra didn't like it, but she wouldn't tell him no. Jack didn't know exactly why Mom didn't, but he knew it had something to do with Mrs. Stark.

He sighed and made a face at the magazine in his hands. It wasn't enough to distract him.

"There's a story, stop me if you've heard it, but your face might freeze that way if you don't cut it out," said a light voice from near the room's double doors. He looked up to see a redheaded girl enter with a backpack slung over her shoulder. His artist's eye recognized her immediately from the media.

"I hear that in some very special cases, the change is an improvement," he countered. "There's a meeting going on in there. If you were planning to interrupt, that is."

"I know." She dumped her bag in a chair and dropped into the next one. "I'm Anya Stark. You must be John Murdock."

"They call me Jack."

"Well Jack, what do you think of the idea that you and I might've been related?"

He blinked at her before bursting into laughter.

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"How bad could it be? It's only dinner?"

Such innocent words from an unprepared mind that should've known better. How they came back to bite Jack on the ass.

Mom and Dad on one side. Mr. and Mrs. Stark on the other. He and Anya on either end. Luckily it was a private dining room. Elektra had been gracious to her son's girlfriend, and Mrs. Stark was kindness itself to Jack. He knew Mom was still armed.

Jack watched both mothers' expressions unite when he cleared his throat to break the news. Anya was Russian royalty and a genius. He was an architecture student who could barely use his own laptop.

"Anya's pregnant and we're not getting married." He paused to gauge the mood around the table. Anya smiled encouragingly at him. "Discuss."

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"How bad could it be, it's only (blank)."

Matthew Anthony Stark-Murdock, fondly called Dork Three by his uncles (and sometimes his mother when she was distracted), heard the phrase over and over during his childhood. The speaker was usually smiling when they said it.

It was when he began to say it to his grandmothers that they made a better effort to keep their personal war out of their grandson's life. He was the only subject on which they could agree.

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Chris/Misha, because she's the only one who didn't fall for him as a kidlet. :)

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Misha/Alice

And because I have to....

Sammy/Charlie

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His Imperial Highness, the Grand Duke Mikhail Loganovich of Russia, gestured imperiously at his SHIELD security officer, Agent Alice Dugan. He hoped she'd react soon because he was about to start laughing any second.

It wasn't easy. If he tried really hard, he could feel the bruise on his leg from when she kicked him at age eight after he explained to both her and Sammy why they had to be his wives. Sammy was Sammy, but Alice....

He had always liked redheads. It was his one true Logan fault.

Now that the Romanov family was out of hiding and SHIELD providing neutral security, Misha immediately requested Alice Dugan to be his guard. He was having fun ordering her about and waiting for her to kick him again.

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Franklin/Sammy!

Dmitri/Jenny!

:]

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Sammy had to face it, there were worse things she could tell her father. Even spread the blame around a little. Dad and Mom had shipped her to the Richards' for play dates as a kid. Dad assigned her to be the SHIELD liaison to the Fantastic Four when she graduated from the Academy. As an old family friend, she was invited to come and go as needed.

So maybe she took it a little too literally, but she had help.

"Good news, Dad! The Fury name will continue for another generation."

Pause. Wait for Dad to catch his breath.

"It'll be attached to the Richards name."

Pause. Watch Dad's face turn colors. Hear the cigar squeak between his teeth.

"Dad, remember who Franklin is before you threaten to toss him down a hole and plant a tree over it. And don't fire me, I need my medical benefits now. I'll sic both Mom and Mrs. Richards on you. Also, Franklin is probably monitoring our conversation."

Pause.

"Dad, are you....laughing?"

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Matt Walker/Sammy

Tim/Zoe

Justin/Jenny

Bruce/Carol

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Suspicious activity in the magical community sent Sammy to Chicago. Dr. Strange's warning that something unpleasant happening in Chicago that would affect the North American continent was taken seriously by SHIELD. It could be anything from a black hole to another dimension to a demon invasion, to the 2010 elections skewed to favor the American Nazi party.

How her information led her to shadow Matt Walker, she'd never really know. Or how he caught her doing it. One shot, fired in warning, and she was under two tons of dog, trying to breathe and getting a face full of growling teeth.

How could it be anything but love at first sight?

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Jenny/Casey
Sammy/Ryan

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Misha/Tina

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Griffen/Sammy

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Johnny Walker jr/Sammy

Argo/Marlow

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